Research
May 1, 2009 by Brian Butler , , maitamim and John Morelli | Filed under: The EM Role in Greening Transportation
A vehicle approach, in regards to energy efficiency, is a bottoms-up approach that uses fuel data from transport surveys and data collection from trucking companies instead of fuel sale data from petroleum companies. This approach is used to analyze performance, energy consumption, and carbon dioxide emissions while comparing freight transport operations versus energy use and efficiency. There are traditionally three ways to improve energy efficiency: mileage reduction (using a navigation system), increase fuel efficiency (scheduling systems), or a change in driver behavior to promote either of the latter. The study itself revealed that additional information was necessary, including weight versus volume, commodity types, and driving conditions to enable accurate fuel use comparison. One conclusion drawn by the study indicated that, when comparisons were made between Brittan and France, fuel efficiency was better in the United Kingdom due to the use of rigid vehicles but total fuel usage was lower in France due to less distance traveled. The inclusion of government policy in future studies could also provide insight as to the effect on energy efficiency of those programs. This article provides a good framework for completing similar energy efficiency studies which can help drive environmental goals.
I was wondering if there was any discussion regarding the use of public transportation between France and Britan? During my time in the Britan I saw a great deal of people utilize public transportation, traffic was far less than here in the United States, and from my understanding, France is similar, so I would assume that traffic is less in France when it is compared to the US. I would also wonder what is the percentage of families in the US with more than 1 car/SUV/truck, compared to that of families in France, and Britan. I understand that fuel mileage (MPG) is greater in Britan, and France than comapred to that of the US, what have those goverments done to help drive better MPG? And can we accomplish the same thing here in the US?